Bingham: Brotherly love

Friday

Jan 25, 2013 at 2:00 AM

The topic for today is brothers: Relevant right now because, as you may have heard, the head coaches of the two Super Bowl teams are both named Harbaugh. John, who is 50, has been Baltimore's biggest Raven since 2008. Jim, 15 months younger and a former top college and pro quarterback, is in his second season guiding the San Francisco 49ers.

Walter Bingham

The topic for today is brothers. Relevant right now because, as you may have heard, the head coaches of the two Super Bowl teams are both named Harbaugh. John, who is 50, has been Baltimore's biggest Raven since 2008. Jim, 15 months younger and a former top college and pro quarterback, is in his second season guiding the San Francisco 49ers.

If you wonder if this is a Super Bowl first, the answer is yes. In fact, when Jim made his debut with the 49ers in 2011, it marked the first time in NFL history two brothers had been head coaches at the same time. Later that season their teams met, John beating Jim, 16-6. The early line this time is suggesting Jim will get his revenge next week.

So kudos to the Harbaughs. But this column is the writer's opinion of the best brother acts in the area of fun in games during his lifetime. Thus said, the pro football award remains with the Mannings. That's Peyton and Eli, plus the paterfamilias, Archie.

Manning-the-elder quarterbacked the luckless New Orleans Saints 40 years ago. He subsequently sired three sons, two of whom have won three Super Bowl rings, much to the ever-lasting regret of we locals.

Baseball? The DiMaggio family stands out — Joe, Dom and Vince — as well it should. Between them they hit 573 home runs, but that puts them only in second place among brothers. The winners are the Aarons, Hank and Tommy with 768. The latter contributed only 13, but big brother took care of the rest.

The DiMaggios also fall short when it comes to Hall of Fame plaques. Only Joe has one. The winners in this category are Paul and Lloyd Waner, known to opposing pitchers as Big Poison and Little Poison. Playing mostly for Pittsburgh in the '30s, the pair had 5,611 hits collectively, good for two tickets to Cooperstown.

On to golf. Slim pickins' there. I'll bet you didn't realize it, but Curtis Strange, winner of two U.S. Opens, has a twin brother, Allan, who in 1980 made his debut on the PGA Tour. A year later he bid farewell. Since neither Jack nor Tiger have a brother who ever broke 90, the most successful duo goes to the Herberts. Lionel won the PGA Championship in 1957, Jay did likewise three years later.

Tennis. Landslide winners are the Bryans, Bob and Mike, also twins and monozygotic at that, not a word I often use. Mirror image, Bob lefty, Mike righty. Individually they are less than so-so, but as a doubles team, they may be the greatest pair ever. At 34, they have won every major several times over, plus two Olympic gold medals.

Hockey. I have fond memories of Toronto's Nick and Don Metz, having listened with my father to Hockey Night in Canada on our old Philco as a boy. Whenever the Maple Leafs incurred a penalty and were one man short, the Metz brothers were the absolute best at icing the puck.

But in fairness, the trophy must go to Maurice "the Rocket" Richard — that's Ree-shard — and brother Henri, who made Montreal a permanent home of the Stanley Cup in the late 1950s.

Finally, I must mention two brothers who had a personal impact on my life. In 1957, the St. Louis Cardinals signed an 18-year-old pitcher only a few days out of high school. His name was Von McDaniel, brother of Lindy, who had been with the Cardinals for two years.

In his first start, Von shut out the Brooklyn Dodgers on two hits. The next month he one-hit the Pirates. Sports Illustrated sent a 26-year-old reporter out to St. Louis to check things out. He spent a full day with both brothers, watched Von win still another game, wrote a story and received his — OK, my — first byline.

Alas, this Frank Merriwell saga has an abrupt and unhappy ending. Von finished with a 7-5 record that year and never won another game. He lost his ability to throw a ball over the plate. In May, less than a year after he helped launch my journalistic career, his own career was over.

Worse, as I checked him out on the Internet, I learned he died of a heart attack at 56. Baseball may regard the achievements of the brothers McDaniel as a footnote, but don't tell me that.

Walter Bingham, a former editor and writer for Sports Illustrated, lives in Truro. He can be contacted by email at sports@capecodonline.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.